(REUTERS): Singapore has confirmed the first infection of the new coronavirus variant, which first detected in the United Kingdom last week and is said to be more contagious.
According to the Health Ministry of Singapore, the country has been conducting viral genomic sequencing for confirmed COVID-19 cases, which arrived from Europe recently.
Among the 31 COVID-19 patients who arrived between Nov. 17 and Dec. 17, one was confirmed carrying the B117 strain, while 11 others were found infected preliminarily, and their confirmatory results are pending.
All the cases, which were imported from Europe, had been placed in 14-day quarantine at dedicated facilities or isolated upon arrival, and their close contacts had been quarantined earlier.
“There is currently no evidence that the B117 strain is circulating in the community,” Singapore’s health ministry said, referring to the new, potentially more infectious UK strain.
The patient with the new variant is a 17-year-old female studying in the UK since August 2020. The health ministry said that it had been able to ring-fence the case so that there was no further transmission.
Singapore has blocked visitors with recent travel history to the United Kingdom to prevent the new strain from spreading in the city-state that has reported almost zero new local infections daily.
